Lurker
Lurkers (Russian: Кикимора - Kikimorah) are a pack-based species of burrowing mutant revered by players as being both an incredibly annoying and unnerving. Overview Lurkers are suspected by many to be juvenile forms of watchers. This photo of a lurker performing a rare start-combat animation, the watcher's trademark pose, is one of the many reasons why people relate the two together. Lurkers are very fast and tend to jump up from holes in the ground and launch themselves at Artyom, dealing moderate damage to him. They very often show up in packs of one to three at a time They are mostly scavengers that press in upon carcasses, rarely hunt small preys. Assumed to be mutated dogs,cats or rats, lurkers eat dead fatlings, mutants and humans. They are very agile and jump up from holes in the ground rather fast. They have almost pink skin and no bodily hair whatsoever. They also possess a second pair of eyes, which are very small and are probably useless as they appear to be milky white (a sign of blindness). Lurkers congregate in recently abandoned metro stations, feeding on the corpses of humans and mutants alike. They have "warrens", burrows that allow the lurkers to transit between holes as a means of flanking prey. The holes that they use are often (if not always) above lower rooms of the stations, indicating that their burrowing abilities aren't very good and that they prefer to use large, empty spaces to save them the trouble of digging a new warren. Lurkers commonly attack small groups of humans, another behavioural trait of scavengers, such as when Artyom is making his way through Hole Station and carrying Sasha. Bourbon warns Artyom of this early in the game when a lone lurker is seen fleeing before them. Tactics Dealing with lurkers can be very easy or very annoying, it all depends on how the player approaches them. They don't do a lot of damage but always attack in groups of several at a time (even if there is much more of them in the area, they will never attack in groups larger than three; only after you kill some more will "spawn"), retreat into their holes after hitting you or attempting to. The player should be careful, they will come out of the holes behind your back if possible. Just waltzing into their territory and shooting them as they come out is definitely not recommended. Instead, trying to find a spot where there are no holes behind, like a solid corner or structure with one entrance. Going into the middle of their territory will provoke them, if this happens retreat to a safe spot. Doing this will force them to run squarely into the barrel of a revolver, which will dispatch them with one shot to the head (an easy shot to make when they're running straight at the player) or body. Shotguns are also a good choices, but only at Hardcore or Ranger difficulties where its stopping power is large enough so that the player can take them out at longer distances - like most melee enemies they tend to do a jumping attack when they're close. That means the player might end up pulling the trigger just as they're flying over their line of fire. It should be noted that lurkers are the only mutants that are actually more dangerous in Ranger difficulties. Their normally modest damage is made much higher, and their mobility is their defense, so increased damage of the player's weaponry won't help as much. Because they attack fast and in groups the player can be shredded in a matter of seconds. When dealing with them in the area requiring a gas mask in Defense, it's best to provoke them and then retreat to an area with no gas (like at the top of the stairs). Otherwise they might seriously damage the player's mask. Lurkers will rarely appear from a warren the player is staring direly at, instead milling about beneath, waiting for the player to look away, given away by the sounds of their movement and growls. A stick of dynamite down the warren will kill any lurkers nearby. As a final note, contrary to popular belief, there are no places in the game where lurkers spawn indefinitely. Even in the first area of Child they eventually stop coming (the player will need to kill somewhere in between 20 and 40 of them, however). Related Achievements Trivia * The name "Kikimorah" comes from name of Slavic mythology character. Kikimorah is described as a small humpbacked woman with a thin body and small head. * The achievement Fire in the Hole is directly connected to the lurker. You have to kill 20 of them. This can easily be done in the Child level. * Their physical appearance strongly suggests that they are a hairless variant or younger versions of a watcher. * If you fall down a hole belonging to a lurker, you will hear the sound of gnawing on your body, shortly before you die. * According to the game developers, these monsters are truly navigating their way between their holes in the game, not just being placed in a random hole near Artyom. Plugin-container 2011-11-28 22-35-59-73.png|Lurkers in the Last Light teaser Category:Mutants